Two Sides to a Throne
by etErnalroSe09
Summary: Tsuna resents the mafia. It took away his (somewhat) peaceful life. It took his mom. It took his future. It took his childhood. So, how far is this resentment going to take him? How much change can he bring as the Vongola Decimo...or what about that something much more sinister?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey fanfiction world! For those of you who don't know me, you know now :D And for those who do, I am so goddamn sorry I am not updating possession. I had final terms (just ended. But I still have art. Screw THAT.) and I've hit a mindblock. So you may kill me now. Go ahead. TT _ TT I'm seriously regretting to even dare show my face here again after so long. As an apology, I have made this fic. I may not update this one very soon cuz I have other projects (possession!) so….just enjoy, kay?

Oh, and also review and send me your fics for inspiration please? Goddess knows I really need it. I'll review every one sent to me.

Disclaimer: Of course I own KHR-

Hibari: Herbivore. For infringement of copyright, I will bite you to death

Me: SHIT *runs*

Special thanks: beta: English-illiterate; and usagihunny (from deviantart)for the cover. Is it okay that I use it?

Chapter one

_**Start a fight, you won't win**_

_**Never mind, I don't care...**_

_**-What Lies Beneath by Breaking Benjamin**_

Guess me

_Why did you have to leave? Why? Did you think I won't remember? Well, I do. I hate you._

Tsuna struggled awake long enough to slap a hand down onto his alarm clock. He remained where he was, floundering on the edge of 'awake' before getting pulled back into the dark ocean of sleep. Minutes later his phone blared an ear-shattering howl and he dragged himself off the bed, groaning in despair, to switch it off and get ready for school.

_I hate Mondays._

He put the toast in his mouth and stepped into his shoes before grabbing his bag and running off, leaving the door unlocked. Namimori was the kind of town where everyone knew each other and grew up together and though he'd only been here six years he was considered part of the friendly community. Besides, he had nothing of importance or value in the house.

Tsuna threw his bag at his desk and sat down in his chair just as the bell rang. Mochida turned and whistled. "Almost late, huh, Sawada? You lucky bastard."

Tsuna scoffed. "You wish."

"Yea, but then who would I copy homework from?"

Tsuna took out the exercise book filled with messy formulas. "Oh come on. 'You already take my lunch money', " he lisped, eyes widening mockingly to take on a 'pitiful' look.

Mochida went red. "Ah hell! That was years ago!"

"You still tried to bully me, though." Tsuna pointed out.

"But I'm the one paying you protection money now." Mochida dropped his tone as they shifted a little onto the topics of gangs.

"We Sawadas hold a grudge," Tsuna announced rather pointlessly.

"I'll say." Mochida muttered, "considering you tell me that every damned day."

"Whatever," Tsuna shot back.

"So are you going to join Kendo?" Mochida asked, feigning nonchalance.

"I've been telling you no since I kicked your pathetic ass six years back."

"You did not 'kick my ass', asshole." The disgruntled teen protested, "besides, that Sasagawa dude has been trying to recruit you too. I can't let him!"

"That's Sasagawa senpai to you," said Tsuna, parodying their chemistry teacher's infamous line. "And haven't I made it clear that I'm in the Disciplinary Committee?!"

The other shuddered. "How you put up with that bloody Hibari guy I don't know."

"He's not that bad." Tsuna defended.

"You only say that because he invites you over for tea parties."

"They're strategic meetings!"

They both had to duck the chalk sent flying by the exasperated teacher and it sailed over their heads to smack into the classmate sleeping behind them. Takahashi woke up with a start, tried to jump up, and fell over backward with a painful thump. Tsuna and Mochida sniggered and the rest of the class joined in the laughter much to the dismay of the teacher.

After school, Tsuna popped into the Disciplinary Committee's room to tell Kyoya-kun his patrolling time and while he was at it, set their next duel's date. Then he retrieved his keys and made a trip down to the warehouse.

Whistling cheerfully, which completely spoiled the creepy and dark atmosphere of the vast, eerie place, Tsuna unlocked the steel doors and stepped in, flipping a light switch and swinging the massive doors shut once more with practised ease.

With a buzz, the lights flickered on one-by-one to reveal shelves and shelves of weapons. A library full of deadly, polished metal.

Tsuna wasn't lying when he said his house had nothing of value. The treasure was all stored here.

Tools of de...fense.

Tsuna smiled.

* * *

The assassin stood atop a building, shrouded by night, face masked in the dark shadows created by his hooded cloak. There was no need for proper a mask, he'd decided. He liked to live dangerously. It was _healthy_ to feel the constant _fear_, the rush of anxiety that got everyone's heart pumping. He laughed.

Equipped with his favourite dagger, combat gloves and a single sniping rifle, he waited.

The quiet lull of the night coupled with the warm, soothing breeze did not last long.

The rattling, ear-deafening sound of guns ripped through the air, as well as screams and cries of pain and anger. And _fear_. The assassin grinned. That was quick. In no apparent hurry, he tilted his head to the side, assessing the situation by sound. Semi-automatic, he decided, all handguns. Geez, give a killer some fun, can't they? No variety at all, how boring. He hopped down to a lower roof to survey the scene.

Bodies littered the room floor, blood staining the carpet, which he eyed with distaste. Didn't they know how difficult it was to get rid of bloodstains? They were mafia for god's sake- Vongola no less! Oh well. It didn't matter in the end. He'd _destroy _Vongola, _**crush**_ it, before the Decimo even ascended the throne. He'd destroy anyone in his path, too! Then he'd create the perfect world where no one died.

He watched, clicking the safety on and off the sniper rifle, as Enrico evaded all bullets, fighting back with a wave of his own, and dying will flames. Now, all he had to do was snipe him down. That was all. But... He hit the rifle against the roof, chipping the shingles, with a scream of annoyance. That's ALL he had to do! Kura had already stirred up the trouble and Yu had infiltrated to start the gunfight but _ALL HE DID WAS SNIPE THAT BITCH_! He could literally cry at the simplicity of it all. He snarled, stabbing into the roof. Then he cast aside the gun. Of course! Why didn't he think it? He'd just join in the fight and _STAB_ the oldest heir. He laughed happily, like a child on his birthday. Yes, he'd definitely do that.

Unsheathing his dagger, he threw himself off the roof and into the room. He found himself behind Enrico, and laughed again at his luck. Perfect. He raised his dagger and-

Blood splattered the ground. Enrico fell. Screams of shock sounded as everyone scanned the room for the culprit, but the assassin was long gone.

And he was pissed. "You asshole! He was my kill!" Yu regarded him with solemn yellow eyes. "I couldn't let you get noticed."

"You end another of my targets again, and I will make your living a tragedy!"

"I love you," Yu explained, throwing the gun to the ground, pulling the hood off to expose long, silky hair fashioned and pinned up like a boy's. Yu searched the assassin's face worriedly for any signs of a grudge. There was none.

"I love you too," the assassin admitted, "but I wanted h-his blood!" Tears hit his clean palms and the bitter reminder spiralled him into breath-consuming sobs.

"Ara ara. We just didn't want you to be hurt, remember? We couldn't live with the thought of handing your death to those imbeciles."

The assassin nodded, tears stopping. "It would be horrible to have delivered my life's purpose into their disgusting, incapable hands. You're exactly right, Kura!"

The pale figure nodded gleefully. "Daiyou ne?"

"Eh? You're all dressed up! Now your hair's purple!"

"Lillac, dear." Kura said proudly, as the assassin tip-toed to pat at the elegant pinkish-purple strands.

"Ah, Yu is too! All dressed up like a lackey!" The assassin giggled.

"You don't think it's weird?" Yu asked in a quiet, docile voice.

The assassin shook his head in reassurance. "It's completely fine for guys to wear pretty dresses and for girls to wear men's stuff."

"The point, darling," Kura reminded kindly. "Get to the point."

Spinning a pirouette, the assassin continued. "It's fine for killers to pose and get to the feast more quickly too!"

Yu hugged him, grinning manically, which caused the assassin to shiver in glee. That smile didn't appear often! That meant something good would happen!

"Oh yeah," Kura snapped slender fingers and pulled a fedora out of a pocket. "Ta-da!"

The assassin clapped hands in joy. "Is that the yellow rainbow's one?"

"Un! Let's give it back as a gift."

"We can tell him himself died!" The assassin proclaimed, proud of his idea.

"Yes, we killed him." Yu affirmed.

"Yu saw it! Yu saw it!" anymore and the assassin would pass out from dizzying happiness. "WE killed him!"

* * *

Tsuna sighed and flung himself onto his bed, yawning. The springs creaked and decompressed some, sending him bouncing back up slightly.

Geez, patrolling was tiring, but it was good training. He got to kick ass, fine-tune his senses and practice fighting against buff idiots twice his size and weight. Good training, all in all, and it also somewhat prepared him for the future. Convenience!

The brunet unleashed a massive yawn once more and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Reborn shuddered. Not all in anger.

He was scared.

Yes, he, Reborn, the world's greatest hitman was scared.

But he had to admit, he was also intrigued.

He ran his hands over the fedora, eyebrows twitching into a frown.

His signature hat was riddled with holes, and though the orange ribbon was now brown and stiff with blood, the rest of the hat was fine save for the bullet holes which left it nothing but scrap. How the hell had they made off with his fedora, from the top of his head, when he was sleeping and then replace it on a fucking hat-stand all in fucking daylight under one fucking hour?

His hands trembled in fury as he contemplated who dared challenge him, the strongest Arcobaleno, the world's best hitman?

Was it one of the others? He thought not.

So was it really these guys? He examined the tape warily, again, as if it might spring to life and bite off his hand.

Well, either they were that suicidal, or really fucking insanely good at whatever shit they were doing. Because if it was to fuck up his mind, it was working.

* * *

_Mike-test, mike-test!_

_**I don't think it's a mike.**_

_Eh? Really?_

_It's a recorder, hun._

_Ah, I see!_

_**Why are we speaking in English?**_

_But why not? Anyway, I think it's great middle ground- I'm Japanese, you're Italian, and Kura is French!_

_**Oh.**_

_Sou, sou! How smart!_

_Yessss, aren't I? Oh- should we introduce ourselves? _

_**It's polite.**_

_Ok! Konichiwa. I am Nameless._

_**My name is Yu.**_

_Hiiiiiiii! I'm Kura~ _

_And we killed you! Yu even saw it! _

_**Un.**_

_Hooray~ Lemme start. Ahem. We killed the yellow rainb-_

_**Sun arcobelano.**_

_So factual, Yu! Okay, we killed the sun rainbow, Reborn. _

_That's you!_

_I think he knows that, sweetie. I'm suuuure he's not stupid._

_Oh. But he's not part of the game!_

_**We shot you.**_

_Ah, Yu is impatient~ Your turn, 'Nameless Assassin'. Fu fu._

_We also ripped out your heart! We ate it! You were screaming, so loud! And the blood!_

_Calm down~ We'll get to the real part soon. Oh yeah, and one more thing, we know who killed Federico! Where is he now, Yu?_

_**The lighthouse by XXX **_

_Ah yes, that's the place. Well, we hope to meet you soon, Reborn!_

_And see your blooooood! AHAHAHA- _

_Maa maa, calm dow_

_[Static]_

_[Tape ends]_

A/N:Well? Can you guess who they are? E-I took Half an hour guessing = + =

Btw, if you are the owner of the cover pic and don't want me to use it, just tell me and I'll take it down.

Either way, hope you guys enjoyed it. There are pairings but it's nothing like smut or fluff…. Just, strong unrivalled attraction? Yeah.

See you guys soon…. And whoever hasn't finished finals yet (Singaporean, I don't know other countries' exam schedule) good luck. NOW GO AND STUDY. OR REGRET IT (like me TT _TT)

See you guys next time :D


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

A/N: Here's the second chapter…. Also, I really want to know if you guys find it weird that I like physics and am good at it? I don't know, it's just… really easy. (good for me, I guess :D)

Holy shit what is wrong with google? E-I just went to search "Timoteo"….. it's an underwear brand. WHAAA? And then she searched "Nono" and got a Taiwanese wedding site. Again, WHAAAA?

Shout-out: Thanks to English-illiterate for Beta-ing and many thanks to In times of crisis we unite, Lotori, Smally, Tanaka Yue, Tomoe-Chii, Verlorener Engel, cross-over-lover232, khr1410, stealtagracia for favouriting or following.

Disclaimer: Just using the characters as my little puppets, fufuf- *stabbed with trident*

[btw there are no OCs]

_**Say goodbye  
As we dance with the devil tonight...  
-Dance With the Devil by Breaking Benjamin  
**_  
Enter Chaos

Reborn tilted his fedora down. Dammit. They were right. Enrico, shot in a family feud. Massimo, drowned. Federico, starved and tortured to death, right there in Italy, just under their noses.

They knew the killers.

_Obviously_, since they were the killers themselves. For Vongola blood to be spilled this easily... The hitman's small fists clenched and, visibly fuming, he lifted his Leon-gun and proceeded to place a few holes into the ground, violently.  
Tch.

His phone buzzed.

"Reborn, you have a job from Nono."

Ah. He should have been expecting this call.

"And a message: It's time. Be careful."

Reborn's eyes narrowed. No one had to tell him that. They killed the heirs, in order of their age. Clearly the next one was Tsuna. The weakest, unaware, and most vulnerable link. Should they get to him, or allow him to take over as Decimo and manipulate him from there... He tilted his head down, shadowing his eyes. The results would destroy them all.

He turned his attention once more to the phone. "I accept."

"Of course." The line went flat.

Reborn smirked, bloodlust licking away at his aura.

Bring it on.

[Reborn... be careful. There is death surrounding my heir... and he is not the one in danger.]

* * *

Tsuna shuffled into the kitchen, yawning, and took the instant pancakes out of the freezer and dumped them into the microwave. He set the time, hit start, and grabbed the canned coffee, rubbing blurrily at unfocused eyes.

Another figure stumbled into the kitchen, mumbling incoherently.

"Good morning Kyoya-kun." Tsuna threw the can over and the prefect caught it with elegant grace.

Kyoya- Hibari- gulped down the contents and flung the empty can into the bin. "Omnivore, whatever happened last night stays between us."

Tsuna shot him an exasperated look. "You totally creamed me last night. That's reason enough to stay mum about it."

"Hn."

The microwave beeped and Tsuna took out the steaming contents, passing one gingerly to Hibari who wolfed it down, heedless of the scorching heat.

"Kyoya-kun, did you know what just transpired between us sounded suspiciously sick?"

A tonfa to the head. "It was just Mario Kart."

"Hai, hai." Tsuna retaliated with a roll of his expressive brown eyes.

A minute later, he was hanging a tongue over the sink, dousing it with water.

"How the hell do you eat that freakin burning pancake?!"

"Hn. It is no different from flames."

"Yours are cold, baka."

"Perhaps you're just suffering from a dose of immediate karma."

"Shut up."

"Hn."

* * *

_He edged around the corner, gun in hand. And no, it wasn't the hand sign._

_A genuine Colt 99, black edition with a sniping scope._

_He swung around, bringing his knee up to lash a kick at the much taller man's leg and hit the inside of his knee, sucessfully bringing him down._

_He glared down at his fallen opponent and leapt atop his stomach and shoved the barrel of the pistol in his mouth. "Don't move, otou-san."_

_That was the last straw._

_"SO CUTE!" Iemitsu screamed and enveloped his three-year old son in a hug. Tsuna giggled and tried to escape his father's revenge, squirming valiantly away from the tickles._

* * *

"Ugnh..." Tsuna groaned as he struggled to sit up. "Oh hey, Tsuna, you're awake! How are you feeling?"

Said teen growled. "Like something died in my mouth."

The other laughed and handed him a bottle of water. "You fainted."

"No shit," Tsuna snorted and emptied half the water down his throat. "Where was it this time?"

"Library."

"Geez. So much for the 'quiet' rule." He made as if to hand over the water but his classmate waved at him to keep it. "I gotta go now, see ya."

"Thanks, Takeshi!" Tsuna called at the closing infirmary door before leaning back with a sigh.

He hadn't had that dream in years. So why now? Foreshadowing? He snorted again and lay back down. Maybe he just needed some goddamn rest.

Because, honestly, he really hadn't wanted to see that dream again. He hated his father for leaving, he hated him for finding the dark, bloody world of mafia more important than them and he hated him for leaving them vulnerable.

It was that bastard's fault, he thought, hands curled into claws with rage, that his mother was dead.

If _he_ had been there, Mama wouldn't have died.

If _he_ had been there... he'd still be alright.

And if he had never existed... none of them would have felt this pain.

And he hated his mother too, for dying.

But most of all he loathed himself. Who else to blame but his own self, who had brought this upon himself?

The laugh he released then was a twisted one of hate and dark despair.

Tsuna stayed in the infirmary until Kyoya-kun came to chase him out as school had ended. Tsuna left without a word and locked himself at home in his room after dumping all the mail onto the dining table. He'd go through them later. Right now, all he wanted to do was to make the world disappear for a while so he popped the pills and swallowed the tasteless capsules before falling onto his bed for some goddamn rest.

When he next awoke, it was with surprise as he surveyed the still-dark horizon. Four in the morning. Well, it was not as if he could go back to sleep anyway. And besides, having not eaten dinner the previous day, he was now, as a result, ravenous.

Chewing on his second omelette, he sifted through the pile of mail and stacked them in groups of 'trash', 'bills'' and 'stuff'. He paused at the last flyer.

"The hell?" He mumbled through a mouthful of melted cheese and eggs. He dumped the plate into the sink, downing the rest of the contents in his mouth with a glass of milk and put the empty cup into the sink too. Clearing his throat theatrically, he read out: "Would you like your child to be smarter, stronger and more charismatic? No problem! I will train your child personally to become the next generation's leader!"

He snorted and cast it aside. "Well really, such a scam. Who would believe this shit? For god's sake, it could be a scam artist for all I know, or a stalker, or a serial killer, or, hell, maybe even that baby in a fedora pointing a gun at me and glaring like I just gave him cooties, or even a rapist." Tsuna heaved a sigh, rubbing his temples, muttering: "open mind... keep an open mind..."

He looked down at said baby. "Well, kid, what do you want? I can't find your mama and the police station is-"

The powerful kick nailed the unsuspecting Tsuna in the head and said teen flew backward at an alarming speed.

Stunned and disorientated by his throbbing head, Tsuna lay there, half-slumped against the wall before looking up at the culprit.

"Ow," he stated simply, "what was that for?"

The baby smirked. "Ciaossu. My name is Reborn and I'm here to tutor you." He cocked his gun, safety going off with a click.

Tsuna blinked and sweatdropped. "Well, since it looks like I have no say in this matter, I'm going to school. Good. Bye." With that, he stalked out, slamming the front door.

Hmm. Looks like his student had an attitude. Well, he could work with that. Reborn smirked down at Leon, who was still in a gun form. Perhaps some... persuasive methods? But first, he had to explain the mafia and Tsuna's involvement in all this AND get him to accept it. Hmm. This would be fun. Reborn walked out, hopping to the top of the wall, jogging slightly to catch up to his almost-student.

"Hey, Dame-Tsuna." The boy refused to turn, or even acknowledge his presence. How rude. Reborn took aim near his target's feet and fired. Tsuna instinctively whirled and flung himself backward, only resulting in hitting his head- for a second time that day- against the wall with a dull thunk. He staggered and slowly sat down, wincing and reaching up to grab at his head. "Ugh, I think I might throw up." He managed, before blacking out. Reborn rolled his eyes at his useless student and grabbed the collar of his school uniform to drag him back home.

Tsuna awoke with a groan, mentally complaining about that horrid taste in his mouth again. He grabbed a half-full glass and tipped it, draining the contents before turning expectantly to Reborn.

"What? Spill it. Are you here to assassinate me, which is rather unlikely seeing as I'm still alive, or to tell me something about the mafia and my worthless dad, or are you just here to piss me off? Because the last one seems the most likely."

Reborn's eyes narrowed. "What do you know about the mafia?" He cocked the gun threateningly.

Tsuna snorted, unfazed. "Please, I've been training since three on how to use a gun. Yours does not scare me. Nor does the fact that you're pointing it at me faze me the slightest. Chew on that for a while."

Reborn fired. Tsuna watched as the bullet buried itself in the wall and turned back to face the menacing (baby) hitman.

"When your dad is the head of CEDEF and is planning you to someday take over it, you learn the basics." Tsuna elaborated.

"I'm here to tutor you, but not to become the next head of CEDEF." Reborn put a transformed Leon onto his fedora. "You are the sole heir to the title of Vongola Decimo."

_Hieeee...?  
_  
A/N: not as long as the previous one, but i hope you still enjoyed it. I had pancakes for breakfast too... heheh.

Ugh, I only just woke up, _**I**_ like something died in my mouth- it's like my taste buds died off or something.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: haaa…. Where to begin? Alright, first of all, sorry for missing out the update date last week… I had dance training, had to prepare for school open house, fell sick (still am, kinda).

Now, with all these feeble excuses out of the way, here's the next chapter I'm already working on the next one, so I can probably upload it soon. Anyhow…. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: The World Is MINE *slapped over the head by a leek*

Miku: Don't go around copying my song titles! *leek smack*

Beta: **English-illiterate** (Thank her! My fic will probably be a mess of spelling errors if not for her)

Shout- outs!:

**Tomoe-Chii**: and I like writing him! Defiant Tsuna keeps on making me smile at his antics and try and keep up… and well…. 1827 *smirk* heh, I see. Hope you enjoyed the mild fanservice~ I'm updating now….. sorry for being late, *sweatdrop*

**Alanamechling**: XD yeah, you go, Tsuna! Nana… well, she still plays a major role in this fic nonetheless.

**Sousie**: updating. *laughs* well, enjoy!

**Tsunasoraceillover**: Thank you! *cannot express her happiness* hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Many many thanks to followers/ favouriters- **Tanaka Yue**, **Tomoe-Chii**, **Verlorener Engel**, **cross-over-lover232**, **khr1410**, **stealtagracia**, **SnowyLife12**, **Smally**, **Lotori**, **Okami Endless**, **Narqissa**, **shinayukihibari1990**, **Rozelia13**, **bunnykins15**, **umbreonblue**, **thegreatandillustriousLEADER**, **alanamechling**, **Chains of Abyss**, **tsunasoraceillover**, **myrddin767**, **blackraven623**, **Love-is-Cyanide**

I really hope I didn't miss anyone out.

* * *

Chapter 3

_**A shadow of a man, I'm nothing less  
I am holding on, still holding on  
And every now and then life begins again  
I am holding on, still holding on  
-Crawl by Breaking Benjamin **_

Underground Dealings

Now, everyone had bad days. Everyone. And this, Tsuna reflected, was one of his worse.

His head throbbed like - damnholyshitfhack-, he felt like throwing up his stomach, there were several bullet holes in the wall, he was missing school and being held at gunpoint, telling his new tutor- a baby, for God's sake- all about his meagre knowledge about mafia.

Yeahhhhh. Best (WORST) day ever.

EVER. Period.

"...and that's all I know about Vongola and the multiple scandals and dramas surrounding its current existence."

Reborn 'hmm'-ed and nodded. "This isn't in the reports." He muttered.

"Who gave you the write up on me?"

"Iemitsu."

"Figures. He hasn't been home since we shifted to Namimori for our safety when I was four and the other time he taught me to defend myself, Mom busted his ass with a frying pan for letting me handle a gun." Tsuna smiled faintly. "He'd probably be too embarrassed to say anything about it."

Reborn snorted. That idiot.

"You still haven't told me what happened to the other heirs."

Reborn shoved the pictures at him. "It isn't pretty," he warned, teeth clenching.

Tsuna frowned. "Geez. You'd think they would defend themselves better, being mafioso and all. But no, last one standing is the defenceless school boy." He rolled his eyes and tossed the photos back.

Reborn raised an eyebrow. "Hm. I had expected you to be a cowering, pathetic dame mess. I'll just step up your training then." He pointed his gun at Tsuna, who ignored him in favour of digging through his pockets for his phone.

"But first, tell me about these assassins."

Tsuna gave a muted cry of triumph and grabbed his iPhone. "Wait and see," he told Reborn, smirking deviously as he composed a new text message and hit 'send'. "I have a meeting tonight."

Reborn 'tch'ed and shot at Tsuna anyway. (The bullet hit the wall beside him again.) Then he hopped off the bed and out the window to scout the area.

The naked light bulb swung in little, hypnotising circles, flickering in time with the others, which altogether gave the warehouse an ominous air.

Thugs filled the room, several lounging in the shadows, others standing or sitting stiffly, openly bristling as they glared at the other in a show of hostility, and fewer egoistical ones lazing carefreely, hands lingering on a weapon, mostly blades.

An amused, snide chuckle slid in from the doorway as it opened a crack. "Stop throwing the goddamned testosterone around," the voice's owner said and stepped into the light, locking the door behind him, which squeaked rustily as he did so.

He was small, and slim, but the black tank top under the unzipped orange-stripped-white hoodie hugged his body enough to show sinewy muscles and his black cargo pants which were tight-ish and bore a few rips complimented his lean legs, which, though thin, looked like it could and would pack a powerful kick. He had to be strong enough, to stand up to the demon prefect like that and even claim his place beside him as vice-president of the Disciplinary Committee.

"Jealous, hun-bun? Looks like puberty didn't and won't be visiting anytime soon." The one lounging easily in the corner teased, voice saturated with fake arrogance (though some was real), form slacked and hunched casually, with ash dripping from the unlit cigarette hanging from two fingers.

"I'm going to make you wish you'd bit that tongue off, Kuro."

Sawada Tsunayoshi, or as the crowd of yakuza better knew him, Ankoku, sauntered over to the last empty chair and sat down.

Ankoku, with a bark worse than his bite- when he wished- sitting before them, unveiled and ready to start the meeting, to deal out the bloodshed. Gone was the mask of Sawada Tsunayoshi that most of the town saw, with the gentle but cynical smiles and wild but fairly enforced sense of justice belaying the beast underneath it all.

The air charged, they looked to their unanimous leader with barely reigned-in eagerness, grudging respect for him buried under the impatience in their eyes.

The teen smirked. "Good evening."

The meeting had started the minute he stepped in; he was not going to waste any time on the pleasantries.

"How are the border patrols coming along?"

"It's working fine, yo. We could step up the securi..."

Reborn stared from where he was watching, concealed in the shadows behind a trashed couch. Meeting... this was one strange meeting. A strategical one, between the twelve yakuza groups in Namimori itself, discussing tactics to maintain territory, keep the drunkards and druggies off the streets, enforce a new no-stealing law, punish the ones that dared break their laws, and assassins.

"How many should we expect these months?"

"No more than twenty, they've stop sending in so many, but the Ferriro family have gotten smarter, they'll probably try to come incognito, be on your guard."

"Wanna increase our weapon stock?"

"I've been thinking about that, want to set up our own shop that services and cleans and provides ammo? Who here can sneak in some of the special stuff."

"I've been fuckin doin it for years now, should be fine if you want to increase amount, but more man-power'll be needed. Take it off my fuckin tab."

"Sure sure. The rest of you, normal amount, more if you are thinking of holding special events, the usual, just tell me what the situation is, or whatever."

Rustles of notes filled the air as Tsuna collected a bundle of money from each leader of the yakuza groups.

Reborn did naught but stare.

How deep was the heir of Vongola in these yakuza matters? Immersed enough in it to be their leader, it seemed. He was going to have to slaughter the incompetent fools who were stationed here as spies and guards.

He'd thought Tsuna was a normal student, average in everything, with a poor attendance record and a diploma in normalcy.

This Sawada Tsunayoshi he'd encountered was an enigma.

Rounding up the brutal, bloodthirsty yakuza, leading them and extorting money and favours from them, this teenager could make a fine leader. He'd have to get to work on his attitude, though.

Reborn pulled his fedora lower, shading his eyes, and, concealing his presence, he walked out.

He dialled a number and waited.

"Hey-"

"I had information that Sawada Tsunayoshi is a normal civilian."

"But he is! The mafia is too dangerous, I sent him and Nana-"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi is the ringleader of all the yakuza groups in Namimori."

"...SAY WHA-"

"You are a horrible father."

"Don't say that!"

"Hmph. You obviously haven't taught him any manners."

"You're just sulking because he snarked you, aren't y-"

"Continue and I will fill you with lead."

"Bu-"

"I have my ways, as a number-"

"One Hitman, yeah yeah. Stop cutting me off! And have you told Nana my message?"

"...I don't see her."

"Wha? But, Rebor-"

"She isn't anywhere in town."

"Could an opposing famiglia have-"

"I'm sure Tsunayoshi would have said something by now if his Mom was missing."

"Yeah. By the way, get him his guardians quick."

"Has Xanxus escaped?"

"Precautionary method... The Ninth senses something ominous."

"On it."

The line went dead and Reborn let Leon transform back and climb onto his fedora.

He did not turn at the footsteps.

"You heard that?"

A hum of affirmation.

"So where is Sawada Nana?"

"Answer me."

"I think..." here Tsuna appeared to choose his words carefully. "We should leave that question for another time."

But Reborn knew better. The sentence had been carefully scripted- so much so that he could tell it was a lie. Tsuna was trying to hide the tremor in his voice.

What horror had befallen Nana, for Tsuna to get this tensed over the mere mention of his mother?

What sort of trauma had he suffered?

Reborn walked after the silent teen without a word.

He could very well guess.

But for now, it would stay a guess.

* * *

BANG

"WHAT THE FUCK DID I EVER DO TO YOU?"

"I wanted coffee, not this crap."

"It IS coffee! Gah! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Good observation. And you know, this is NOT coffee. It is a disgusting violation of the sustenance of the Gods."

"Ambrosia. Greek mytholo-GAHHHH- IT'S JUST COFFEE IN A CAN!"

"Brew the coffee. Now."

"I don't HAVE a coffee making machine."

"Get one now."

"Get it yourself! I'll be late for school!"

BANG

"PUT THAT ROCKET LAUNCHER DOWN- HOW'S THIS, I BUY YOU COFFEE FROM THE SHOP DOWN THE STREET OKAY?"

"Dame-Tsuna." BANG "A mafia boss never loses his cool."

"Well fuck me if that ain't a bazooka- LORD ABOVE PLEASE SAVE ME!"

BOOM.

.

...  
... my life is screwed

.  
.

A/N: Haha… poor Tsuna.

Tsuna's "yakuza name" is Ankoku, which means, on Google translate (so it may be wrong), darkness, shadow, obscurity & opaque.

hoped you liked it. Ja ne~


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Happy Deepavali! This has to be put up late because my poor Beta had extended studies and TKD and I kept harassing her till she melted into this puddle. Thanks lisa, for putting up with me and my insane, un-ethical antics.

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone. I just gave them OOC masks. :D

Special thanks: beta: **English-illiterate**; and usagihunny (from deviantart)for the cover. (whom I still have not asked permission from *sweatdrop*

Shout-out: (do these things annoy you? I could stop, if you want.)

**Bleach-ed-Na-tsu**: Wow. That's really got me fired up and all XD Thank you so much! (no srsly, Thank you~)

**Sousie**: I know. But it'll all work out in the end, our favourite tuna will get his happiness.

**Tsunasoraceillover: **yep~ Badass!Tsuna service specially for you guys~ And Nana's probably watchin' over her little Tsu. I guess maybe we should have a few moments of silence for her?

**Bigshowvn**: *nods in total agreement* yupyup. We all want more sexybadasstsuna, whoot!

Dedicated to: all my followers and favouriters. I really can't keep track anymore, and to not miss anyone out, I am going to leave you all a big thank you in each of the chapters because I write for you guys. You guys are literally the reason I even write. So thank you. So much. You don't even know what you guys have done, and I love all of you. Have a cookie, and this golden statue of yourself. *insert golden statues here*

Chapter Four

_**Sitting in expectation, please give me more,**_

_**I'm tired of waiting for dinner**_

_**Returning to the main subject: a tragedy**_

_**-Lazy Crazy sung by Gumi**_

(One of) The Monsters in My Closet

"Dude, what the fuck happened to you?"

"Mochida, when your sister has PMS and is fucking pissed, what do you do?"

Gulp. "Sh-shut up?"

"Good."

"….."

"Sawada, you PM-"

"You finish that and you will NOT be speaking EVER again."

Still, the tendrils of curiosity Mochida was almost-visibly emanating poked and prodded at him till he had no choice but to twist his neck and face the teen saying, "Tutor from my Dad's company is completely fucking crazy."

"Oh. Well, you look like shit."

"You don't have to sound so happy."

"But you look like-"

"He threw me in the fountain I passed by on the long route to school and was dried by getting thrown onto an unused barbeque grill and now I smell like coffee in a can was used to wash my hair. Well fuck you Mochida. Fuck you."

"…..Tough luck, Sawada."

"THANK YOU for noticing."

"You can come and hide in my house, Tsuna, haha!"

"He'll just follow me there! Ugh. Thanks anyway, Takeshi."

"No probs, haha!"

"QUIET!" Nezu practically flew off the ground from the force of his own shout. Silence permeated the room, broken only by rustling of books and bags.

"We have a transfer student," the teacher continued, glaring Takeshi down who only retaliated with a blinding smile and an increased tapping of his pen. "Please welcome Gokudera Hayato. He's from Italy."

Tsuna stiffened.

"Please come in, Gokudera-kun."

The classroom door slid open, squealing harshly and hit its maximum with a 'bang'. They all winced. Gokudera stepped in, chains hooked to his pants clanking, with an aura of fierce defiancy.

"Tch."

Takeshi studied the teen in the front of the room with rare urgency close to no one had seen. Open uniform top revealing skull-printed under shirt, studded bracelets of sorts wrapped his forearms, two belts rested on his hips and a smell of smoke soaked his clothes.

It was the silver hair that clinched it, though.

"Hurricane bomb!" Takeshi snapped, shooting to his feet, swiping at his desk side to pick up his baseball bat at held it out at eye-level, threateningly. "What business do you have here?"

Mochida glanced at him then at Tsuna and picked up his own sheathed katana, rising to his feet as well, eyeing Gokudera with renewed interest.

Said teen reached into his clothes as if for a weapon. "Stop."

They flicked their eyes over at Tsuna, bodies remaining tensed and ready for an attack.

"Chi ti ha mandato qui?" (who sent you here)

"…."

"Rispondere!" (answer)

Gritted teeth. "_Reborn_."

Tsuna stiffened but nodded. "Guys, sit down. He's not an enemy." _Not right now_.

Mochida promptly sat, casting another curious look at Gokudera.

"Takeshi."

With an uncharacteristic huff of annoyance, he sat.

The rest of the class erupted into whispers.

"Ne, do you think Sawada knows him?"

"He's got to be yakuza then!'

"I'm going to stay out of this."

"But he's so hot, though."

"You females!"

"Sexist!"

"QUIET!"

The room fell quiet again and the students rummaged around under their desks for their textbooks. Gokudera sat down and focused a stifling glare into the back of Tsuna's head. Said teen ignored it staunchly.

* * *

"What is the Smoking Bomb doing in Namimori?" Mochida asked as soon as they had hit the roads. "He's the best teenage hitman out there, isn't he?"

"Actually, only in Italy," Tsuna injected. He paused to retrieve his caned drink from the vending machine's drawer. "Hibari is probably the strongest teen in Japan. He would be the strongest Yakuza head but he's shirked his responsibility and now that job's fallen to me." He snapped the tab of the metal can off and passed it to Takeshi so that he could add that to his collection and took a sip of the carrot juice. "Takeshi is the strongest Japanese teen hitman."

"What about you_, Ankoku-sama_?"Mochida drawled, chuckling as he dodged the elbow thrown his way.

Tsuna grumbled and continued to sip on the orange-tinted liquid.

"So what is tako-head doing here?" Mochida seemed to recall the original query which had started the thread of discussion.

"Ha ha, tako-head! Good one, Mochida!"

"Let's go grab sushi," was Tsuna's quiet but firm answer.

"Tsu-"

"I have no doubt he'll confront me tomorrow. Let me just attempt at a semblance of normal life for now, kay?" he quirked a smile tiredly. "I already have various assassins after my head and a hitman recruiting me into the mafia."

They fell silent , walking in quiet peace before Tsuna realised his slip-up.

"Say WHAT?"

"MAFIA?"

'Shoot.'

In the end, he managed to avoid all their questions as he ran along the rooftops, dropping down and dashing through the entrance of Takesushi a mere second before his two classmates did, waving a 'hi' to Tsuyoshi and the other customers and ran up the stairs to Takeshi's room.

They now sat in a close circle to avoid dropping off the baseball-fan's bed, sating their hunger with yesterday's leftover sushi, waiting for the others to arrive.

Shoichi was first to arrive, glasses on the verge of dropping off the edge of his nose in his haste, face as red as his mussed up hair, exclaiming: "I'm not late, am I?"

The girls came next, Kyoko leading the way as Hana and Haru followed, the former lecturing the latter who was stuffing her face with chocolate cream cake.

They shifted onto the floor and kicked away the mounds of comics and discarded clothes to commence the meeting over dessert.

"Okay, I called you guys because of project pineapple. Reborn is in town and I don't know how I can hide mist-san from him."

"Hahi? What is Reborn-chan doing here?"

"Eh, about that…"

Takeshi and Mochida turned to stare at him with an intensity which blew even Gokudera off the charts. Tsuna sighed.

"He's training me to take over Vongola as the Decimo."

"WHAT?"

"This sure is a twist desu!"

"Wow. That's cool, Tsu-kun."

"Talk about irony."

"Ugh. Either way, I doubt mist-san will be very happy about this so we'd better let this slide. Also, we should try and reinforce Kokuyo land."

"The illusions won't be enough?"

"I could try something… Eh, do you have any ideas in mind?"

"Thanks. Maybe we should have something to fortress the place with illusions?"

"Hahi! I'll help work on the design!"

-line break-

"You're late."

Tsuna dodged the boomerang and tripped onto his bed. He grumbled and tossed his bag into a corner as Reborn caught and tossed the boomerang-turned-yoyo. "I went out for lunch and got this." He gestured to the plastic bag he'd dropped onto the rug on his floor. Reborn walked over and opened the box to see a coffee-maker encased in bubble-wrap within. "Oh, good. Go make me some coffee."

"Now?!" Tsuna rolled on his side exasperatedly to dodge the bullet which snipped off part of his brown spikes and embedded itself into the wall beside the other three already present.

"Yes, now."

Ten minutes later they sat in silence, a cup of steaming liquid in each one's hands. Tsuna broke the silence first with a loud slurp of his green tea, grimacing slightly as it burned his tongue. He hurriedly swallowed and stared into the murky green depths of his cup, feeling the mouthful burn as it slid down his throat and made its way into his belly.

He blinked, fringe flying as a mallet skimmed off the skin on his nose. "Dame-Tsuna, a Mafia boss is always suave and composed."

"I told you, I'm not going to become a Mafia boss," he replied automatically. He shook his head, brown hair flying. "Anyway, what's your next plan?"

A raised eyebrow.

"It's not like I can probably escape it," he grumbled matter-of-factly and tilted his cup once more, sighing in relief as the cooled tea entered his throat without harm to his sore tongue.

"I want you to gather your guardians."

"Oh? And who do you have in mind?"

"Hm." Reborn sipped at his coffee. "Hibari Kyouya, Sasagawa Rhyohei, Yamamoto Takeshi and Gokudera Hayato, so far."

"Done, done and done." Tsuna smiled cockily. "Not too sure about Smoking Bomb though."

"Hoh. So you know who he is?"

Tsuna hit himself upside the head mentally. 'Not again!'

"I have my ways," he muttered coolly.

The cool metal of a gun met the side of his head.

"Yamamoto Tsuyoshi." He said. "He's an ex-hitman. I'm sure you know that. He's retired but he still keeps tabs on those who might threaten Namimori." The gun was removed and he heaved an internal sigh of relief.

Reborn blinked at him with unwavering obsidian and Tsuna hurriedly squashed the urge to fidget deep into his stomach, trying to keep his half-truth believable. 'Does he know I'm lying?' he wondered.

"I see," Reborn said simply, and hopped off the bed. Tsuna sent him a curious look but Reborn only took a drink of his coffee. The doorbell rang and realisation slipped over Tsuna's features as he swung his legs over the space Reborn had created to exit his room and open the door.

Reborn went downstairs and grabbed a plastic cup, filled it to the brim with coffee beans, and started up the machine. The coffee was just pouring out as Tsuna walked by to grab a couple of chopstick, offering the hitman a fork which he declined. He sipped on his steaming coffee, decided it was acceptable, and headed for the table.

Tsuna was already eating, so he aimed a knife at his head for lack of manners and settled down to eat as well.

The bento was good, he thought, average at worst. "Who made this?" he asked, swallowing a roll of omelette. Tsuna chewed and swallowed before answering (mostly to avoid having to dodge a second knife), "My neighbour, Haru."

"She'll make a good wife," Reborn said, measuring his student's reaction out of the corner of his eye.

"I told her once," Tsuna said, unruffled, "Of course, it didn't really help the huge crush she'd had on me then, but we're good friends now."

Oh? No flustered exclamations or screams of denial? Reborn was more disappointed than surprised. "You're quite confident in yourself, aren't you?"

"Why not?" Tsuna was a picture of indifference until he scowled. "I can't cook well, though…"

"Why not ask her to teach you?"

"Oh, I did. It did NOT end well."

"What happened?" Reborn asked, in spite of himself.

The teen sitting opposite him visibly wilted.

"I'm not saying, but it ended up with me Jello-fied in the bathtub."

-linebreak-

A noise woke him up and Reborn hopped out of his hammock and padded across the fluffy rug over to where Tsuna stood, motionless, but from his wide, shifty eyes, clearly shaken up.

"Dame-Tsuna, getting scared of a dream."

"….. You still don't know anything, huh, Reborn?"

"Hurry up and tell me then, Dame-Tsuna. It's just a dream, no monster is coming to get you."

"_**I'm**_ the monster."

Reborn fell silent as he surveyed the trembling brunet as tears fell silently by their feet and quiet sobs wrecked the boy's hunched body. He hopped onto the desk and reached out to place a confident hand on his young student's forearm, wordlessly assuring him that he would listen.

"Nana **died**. Mama _**died**_. I was in the same room, same bed, even! Why didn't they kill _**me**_?! _**Why**_ didn't they kill me?! Why did they take _**Mama**_? Was it my fault? Why was it only her? I want her _**back**_! Why did she die?"

Reborn placed a solemn hand on Tsuna's bowed head and ruffled his unruly spikes, trying to comfort him in his own way as the boy sobbed and screamed, tears streaming down his face, voice turning nasal.

"_**Why?! Mama!**_" Emotion choked him up and whatever he said after that was a muffled string of sorrow. Reborn understood though, and placed both his hands onto Tsuna's head and stayed like that, in unbroken contact, until the boy quieted down.

Reborn guided Tsuna to his bed and hopped up on his pillow, pulling the covers up as the teen blew his nose. "I'll keep you safe from the monsters in your closet, baka-dame-Tsuna," he told him and flicked his forehead. "Go to sleep, Tsuna."

A/N: There! R27 fluff, heheh. Hope you like it. If you can't already tell, I'm planning on making this R27 but progress will be slow so for now (and perhaps a long time,) the very most there will be is fluff. And yeah, Tsuna can parkour~

Well, in any case, I hope it wasn't too cliché. Btw, in case you forgot, the meaning of Tsu's "gangsta" name is in the last chappie. See you guys next week and don't forget to leave a review on your way out. Ja ne~


	5. apology for you guys

**Apology**

Alright, just look at the title….. I'm sorry.

But before we go on, NO I am not abandoning the fic, NO I will not disappear.

Here's the thing: I might be going on a short hiatus, but will try to put up a new chapter by next week, at least. I owe to you guys that much. It's just that I've hit the point where I have not quite planned out the chapter and I've kinda lost the fire for it, so some parts may seem forced.

I'm kind of stressed here. I have other fics, plot bunnies, poems, drawings, and songs that I am working on, holiday homework, a writing competition, bladablada.

Those are my pitiful excuses.

If you are angry, you have every right to be. But rest assured, the next chapter will be up… soon… I'm working on it.

I'm also working on a new fic for KHR. What sort of pairings do you guys like?

It would mean a lot if you continued to follow this fic and forget about it during my short hiatus- it really pushes me to keep writing. So thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed so far.

And remember, I'll be back.

So… Yeah.

On a lighter note, AFASG 2013 starts on Friday this week- I'll be going all three days. To all my Singapore readers, (not that many at all…) I hope you guys go and have fun~

Bye~

Oh yeah, btw I was cleaning up my notebooks and found a poem. I'll just share it here:

* * *

I slam close the door

Can't take it anymore

And call

Desperately out to you

You don't hesitate to take my hand,

Put my sorrows to an end

Crimson roses surround us

Petals tumble all around

Down my arms onto the ground

As I finally find peace

From your scarlet kiss

* * *

Now let's just keep in mind I'm not a romantic person, but…. Eh. That was awkward.

And if by any chance you want to use the poem, go ahead. Just… credit me or something. That would be a literal dream come true.

Also, do you want me to take this down when I put up the next chapter?

Wow, is anyone still reading?

I'll go and write the fic now, so thanks for reading.

Seph peace out (I reveal to you my nickname *dramatic music*)


End file.
